Alexander Zverev was freed from himself after winning his first major at the 2026 French Open. The failure to win a Grand Slam was clearly weighing on him, as he has since acted on the court like a different player. This was further proven by his Wimbledon 2026 final with Jannik Sinner.
Zverev and Sinner played a wonderfully close first set, but the Italian often missed forehands, and that had to be concerning for the player and his team. Normally, Sinner plays pristine tennis. His 40 winners against just 15 unforced errors in his semifinal match against Novak Djokovic are impressive because, for the player, the number isn't shockingly unusual.
Going into the final, many expected Sinner to win as Zverev had struggled against the ATP No. 1 recently, but that French Open title changed everything for the German. He seemingly is no longer making mistakes. He hits freely, stepping into the court to unleash his forehand.
Jannik Sinner wins his fifth Grand Slam title by winning Wimbledon 2026
Even while set one was tight, Sinner could have taken the lead with a few well-placed shots. Zverev's forehand and immaculate serve often kept that from happening. After each player held, an even tighter tie-break followed, but in the end, it was Sinner who made a mistake and not his opponent. The set victory was Zverev's first against Sinner since 2025's Vienna Open, a stretch of six matches.
Zverev is obviously playing with far more confidence than he ever has at majors, and for him to take the opening set appeared crucial. He also sank to his knees after doing so as if he had won the match. The German understood the importance of finally winning a set against Sinner.
The second set also saw no break-point opportunities for either player. Sinner kept shifting his return location, clearly not knowing what Zverev was trying to do. This was notable as the Italian seemingly has had no issues returning the German's serve for many of the last matches. Zverev was confusing Sinner.
And yet, still the ATP No. 1 kept holding serve, and the set ended in a tie-break, one that Sinner jumped out to a 4-0 lead in. He finished the tie-break 7-2, and after two hours and 10 minutes, the match was even and basically facing a best-of-three sets. The reality that was creeping in on the Italian was that he was 0-9 in his career with any match longer than three hours and 50 minutes.
At 3-all in the third set, Zverev fell awkwardly. He immediately held his knee but appeared fine. Sinner came over to his side to check on the German, and Zverev was appreciative. The whole scene was somewhat reminiscent of Zverev suffering a gruesome ankle injury at the French Open in 2022, but this was nowhere near that extreme. Zverev was able to keep playing without limitations.
That didn't stop Sinner from getting the break at 4-3 in set three, though. He then went on to hold to win the third set 6-3. He led two sets to one, but the match felt far from over since it had been so tightly played. What was formidable for Zverev, however, was that he had not broken Sinner in 81 straight games. If he could do so, the narrative of the match would change.
He couldn't in the fourth set, but Sinner could get the break. The match had been played at a high level by both players, but Sinner was just a tick better in the most important moments. At 3-all in the fourth, the Italian jumped out to a 15-40 lead; the game got back to deuce, but Sinner's forehand power proved too much, and he got the break to lead 4-3. He then held easily to get to 5-3.
Zverev didn't give up and pushed to 4-5, but Jannik Sinner simply refused to be broken. He took the fourth set 6-4, got the only two breaks of the match, and won his fifth major by taking his second straight Wimbledon title. The true ATP No. 1 is king of the tennis world because he is simply better in nearly every aspect than his opponents. That likely won't change soon.
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